In his first season as starter, Marcus Mariota has quarterbacked Oregon to the top of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. / Kelley L Cox, US PRESSWIRE

by Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

by Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports

If the season ended today, the Southeastern Conference's six-year run of BCS championships would be over as a result of unanimous No.1 Alabama's upset loss to conference newcomer Texas A&M on Saturday.

But it doesn't, so everybody take a deep breath. There's still a lot that can happen on this wild ride we like to call college football.

For now, there are three undefeated teams left vying for the coveted top two spots in the final standings with three weeks to go in the regular season. Oregon moves into the No. 1 position in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, one of the components of the BCS standings that will be released later Sunday. The Ducks received 44 of 59 first-place votes and were picked second on all the others after improving to 10-0 with a win at California.

Kansas State moved into the No. 2 spot in the coaches poll and figures to be well positioned for a top-two BCS ranking thanks to its standing in the computer formulas. The Wildcats, also 10-0, received 14 of the remaining 15 No. 1 votes and were voted second on all but two of the remaining 45 ballots.

Notre Dame claimed the last No.1 vote and checks in at No.3, but the Fighting Irish probably would be on the outside of the top two unless more upsets occur over the final weeks. Still, it is the first time Notre Dame got a No. 1 vote since September 2006, and the Irish are no lower than No. 5 on any ballot.

The SEC is well represented throughout the rest of the top 10. Georgia moved up to No. 4 after officially securing its spot in the conference title game by blanking Auburn. The Crimson Tide slid to No. 5, their lowest ranking since the end of the 2010 season, but they're still likely to meet the Bulldogs in Atlanta.

No. 6 Florida State and No. 7 Florida held their spots with narrow wins. LSU jumped past Clemson into No. 8 after beating then-No. 23 Mississippi State. Texas A&M vaulted to No. 10 with its historic win in Tuscaloosa, leapfrogging No. 11 South Carolina and No. 12 Oklahoma. Stanford, which travels to Eugene to face the top-ranked Ducks this week, checks in at No. 13.

Michigan moves back into the poll at No. 23 after staging a rally to beat Northwestern in overtime, knocking the Wildcats out of the top 25 in the process. No.24 Oklahoma State and No.25 Texas Tech also climbed back into the poll after only a one-week absence. Mississippi State and Toledo were the week's other dropouts.